Stop Over-drinking and Start Living

Please enjoy this Summertime Rewind- Oh boy.. parenting!!! Parenting is no f'ng joke. It's the hardest thing I have ever done, even harder than stopping over-drinking. It's relentless, exhausting, overwhelming, and filled with guilt. You are constantly judging yourself and worried about your kids' future. And then you get these tiny little nuggets of good times, and it will fill you for awhile, an...

Please enjoy this Summertime Rewind- Tune in this week and hear me explain why just doing Dry July or saying you won't drink during the week doesn't create permanent change with your relationship to alcohol. Understanding WHY you are over-drinking is critical to changing how much you drink. And if you skip this part you will find that all the little breaks and challenges you do will be temporary a...

Please enjoy this Summertime Rewind- This episode dives in the problem of people in our lives who might say unsupportive comments about you cutting back or quitting alcohol. I explain WHY they might do this and how to navigate it if the person who is the offender is important to you. I also discuss our culture and the social pressure we experience when we are actively trying to change things. Thes...

We all want that deep sigh of relief at the end of the day — to shift from stress to stillness, from doing to being. For many of us, alcohol has been the go-to shortcut to get there fast. But what if real relaxation doesn’t come from a drink... but from a  warm-up ? In this episode, I break down the neuroscience behind why alcohol only  mimics  relaxation, and how it actually disrup...

Please enjoy this summertime rewind- The episode you have been waiting for! In this episode, I reflect on my recent trip to Las Vegas and how it was different from my previous trips when I would over-drink and party the night away. I also discuss how to think ahead with intention when you travel and the importance of setting expectations with your family or friends you are traveling with.   T...

I received a great question last week around the fears we have when we think about changing our drinking. Here it is: The biggest fear I have about not drinking is a potential loss of emotional connection with other people. My husband and I have a routine of drinking together, having one of our great, deep conversations. And with other people - I love to connect deeply with people and put them at...

In this episode of Stop Over-Drinking and Start Living , my client Dorrie joins me to share her journey of changing her relationship with alcohol and learning how to cope with life without numbing. What finally led Dorrie to seek help wasn’t just about drinking — it was about the emotional pain she was carrying around a family situation and how alcohol had become her way of coping, escaping, and g...

Over-drinking is saddled with broken promises we make to ourselves; they go together like salt and pepper. From saying you won't drink tonight, to not drinking during the workweek, or I'll just have one, how often are you breaking those promises? This is common, and you are not unusual. And the good news, there is nothing wrong with you, and it's not some inherent personality trait. It's just a mu...

MUST listen to all the goodness I share about the wedding I officiated and the Sober Sanctuary in the Desert Retreat I just held last week in Palm Springs California.   In addition to all the amazingness and experiences I share about officiating my first wedding and the retreat, I dive into:   Pre-alcohol free break over-drinking, this is over-drinking leading up to a planned break from...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Over-drinking is usually a sign that our mental health is in need of some help. Over-drinking is a symptom. For a lot of my clients, it's a symptom of stres...

⭐️⭐️I've created a companion downloadable worksheet for this week's podcast episode.⭐️⭐️ >> Download the companion worksheet for this week's podcast HERE,  https://www.angelamascenik.com/pivotreflectionworksheet In this episode, I’m diving into what top addiction researchers, psychologists, and thought leaders are saying is the most effective way to interrupt the cycle of over-drink...

You are in for a very special treat on the podcast today! I had the honor to interview my dear client, Suzanne. Suzanne joined my 6-month Stop Over-drinking and Start Living program almost 4 years ago and I've been working with her ever since. She shares how she kicked alcohol to the curb (although that was never her goal!) and then STARTED LIVING! We go into what Suzanne was feeling before she de...

  Are you being the kind of judge you’d actually want? Or are you stacking the scale with every little “failure” and ignoring all your wins? This week, I’m showing you how to shift that inner justice system—so you can rebuild self-trust and actually see your progress. Tune in and take a moment to actually  weigh the evidence —like a real judge would—we’d likely see the wins far outnumber...

If you’ve ever felt like you made a decision around drinking that really doesn't align with goals that you've already made, you’re not alone. The addicted mind has an attachment to alcohol and you can easily recognize it if you start paying attention to certain ways of thinking. In this episode, I discuss several signs that you can easily recognize when your addicted mind has taken the wheel. 1. E...

In this episode, we explore a sneaky obstacle that can make changing your relationship with alcohol feel way harder than it needs to be: the fear of urges. It’s not just the desire to drink that holds you back—it’s the anxiety and resistance you feel about having that desire in the first place. I’ll break down what’s really going on when you’re afraid of feeling an urge, how that fear can keep you...

A lot of people put off changing their relationship with alcohol because life feels  too uncertain , but in reality, it’s one of the best times to do the work. In this podcast, I discuss common beliefs about changing a personal behavior when things feel difficult. If you are thinking: “This isn’t the right time to focus on my drinking.” I'd love for you to be open to thinking,  “What if...

This podcast is a follow up to  Ep 320 Navigating Uncertainty Without Losing Yourself .   I recommend you listen to Ep. 320 first, but you don't have to. Ep. 320 helps you understand:  Why uncertainty feels so uncomfortable (hint: your brain is just trying to protect you) The ways we  think  we’re controlling uncertainty—but are actually making it worse A mindset shift tha...

This podcast is probably going down in the books as one of my all-time favorites. My amazing client Jamie, who runs her own financial planning firm, is here with me to discuss the emotions surrounding financial decisions and alcohol. We discuss difficult feelings one might experience with a dip in the market and with having urges for alcohol, and how closely related they are. Financial experts don...

How often do you tell yourself a story about how awful something will be and then you get to the thing you were worried about and think, 'That wasn't such a big deal!' Our brains are wired to anticipate and focus on potential threats—this is a survival mechanism known as  negativity bias . It evolved to help early humans stay alert to dangers, but in modern life, it often leads us to overesti...

Enjoy this podcast REWIND: Tune in this week and hear the Top 3 reasons saying NO feels so impossible when you are trying to cut back on drinking. I cover these reasons: 1) Hurting other peoples feelings. 2) Fear of Missing Out. 3) Fear of Being Judged. And how you can move past these reasons and say NO easier. Don’t miss! Join me for Wine Free Workweek, March 10-14 (2 live days left! You will hav...

Right now, it’s easy to feel like the world is crumbling. Everywhere you turn, there’s bad news, political chaos, and an overwhelming sense that nothing we do really matters. And when hopelessness creeps in, many of us instinctively check out—we numb with wine, we scroll endlessly, we disconnect. It’s a natural response when everything feels too big and out of control. Your personal choices still...

When we don’t know what’s coming next, it’s easy to spiral into worst-case scenarios, overthink every decision, or try to control things that aren’t actually in our control. And —this is when over-drinking (or other numbing habits) can sneak in. However, uncertainty itself isn’t the real problem. It’s how we  react  to it. In this episode, I’m sharing how to break the cycle of fear, stop...

Join me and learn more about Willpower! Often my clients think they lack enough willpower to not drink or that their willpower is broken. Willpower is a small piece of what it takes to over-come an over-drinking pattern. Tune in and learn: What willpower really is When to use willpower When not to use willpower And expanding on what it will take to make permanent changes with your drinking -- this...

  Why do people fall off their goals? It’s usually because they’ve set unrealistic expectations, don’t have a solid plan, hit a setback, or lose motivation when they don’t see quick results. Life distractions pop up, and sometimes the “why” behind the goal just isn’t strong enough to keep going. But the good news? You can always get back on track. This episode dives into explaining Why We Fal...

Enjoy this throwback episode and learn how it's NOT the want for alcohol that's the problem. 'In this week’s episode, I talk about the WANT for alcohol. Also, called urge, desire, ‘feel like it,’ drive to drink. So many of my clients are worried about the urge/want/desire, they think they can’t handle it. Tune into this episode where I dissect the desire/urge/want and separate it from the conflict...